Men who drank a 12-ounce sugar-sweetened beverage a day had a 20 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to men who didn't drink any sugar-sweetened drinks, according to research published in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal.

"This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health," said Frank B. Hu, M.D., Ph.D., study lead author and professor of nutrition and epidemiology in the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Mass. "Certainly, it provides strong justification for reducing sugary beverage consumption among patients, and more importantly, in the general population."